Menelaus saw him thus stride out before the ranks, and was glad as a hungry Lion that lights on the carcase of some Goat or horned stag, and devours it there and then, though Dogs and youths set upon him.

Will not the Achaeans mock at us and say that we have sent one to champion us who is fair to see but who has neither wit nor courage? Did you not, such as you are, get your following together and sail beyond the seas? Did you not from your a far country carry off a lovely Woman wedded among a people of warriors to bring sorrow upon your father, your city, and your whole country, but joy to your enemies, and hang Dog shamefacedness to yourself? And now can you not dare face Menelaus and learn what manner of man he is whose wife you have stolen? Where indeed would be your lyre and your love tricks, your comely locks and your fair favour, when you were lying in the dust before him? The Trojans are a weak kneed people, or ere this you would have had a shirt of stones for the wrongs you have done them.

After a time they delivered their message, and the speech of Menelaus ran trippingly on the tongue; he did not say much, for he was a man of few words, but he spoke very clearly and to the point, though he was the younger man of the two; Ulysses, on the other hand, when he rose to speak, was at first silent and kept his eyes fixed upon the ground.

If Alexandrus kills Menelaus, let him keep Helen and all her wealth, while we sail home with our ships; but if Menelaus kills Alexandrus, let the Trojans give back Helen and all that she has; let them moreover pay such fine to the Achaeans as shall be agreed upon, in testimony among those that shall be born hereafter.

Then Priam, descendant of Dardanus, spoke, saying, "Hear me, Trojans and Achaeans, I will now go back to the wind beaten city of Ilius: I dare not with my own eyes witness this fight between my son and Menelaus, for Jove and the other immortals alone know which shall fall.

The strap of the helmet that went under his chin was choking him, and Menelaus would have dragged him off to his own great glory had not Jove s daughter Venus been quick to mark and to break the strap of oxhide, so that the empty helmet came away in his hand.

When she marked the beautiful neck of the Goddess, her lovely bosom, and sparkling eyes, she marvelled at her and said, Goddess", why do you thus beguile me? Are you going to send me afield still further to some man whom you have taken up in Phrygia or fair Meonia? Menelaus has just vanquished Alexandrus, and is to take my hateful self back with him.

Menelaus"," said he, "has two good friends among the Goddesses, Juno of Argos, and Minerva of Alalcomene, but they only sit still and look on, while Venus keeps ever by Alexandrus side to defend him in any danger; indeed she has just rescued him when he made sure that it was all over with him for the victory really did lie with Menelaus.

We must consider what we shall do about all this; shall we set them fighting anew or make peace between them? If you will agree to this last Menelaus can take back Helen and the city of Priam may remain still inhabited.

She found him standing among the stalwart heroes who had followed him from the banks of the Aesopus, so she went close up to him and said, "Brave son of Lycaon, will you do as I tell you? If you dare send an arrow at Menelaus you will win honour and thanks from all the Trojans, and especially from prince Alexandrus he would be the first to requite you very handsomely if he could see Menelaus mount his funeral pyre, slain by an arrow from your hand.

As when some Woman of Meonia or Caria strains purple dye on to a piece of ivory that is to be the cheek piece of a Horse, and is to be laid up in a treasure house many a knight is fain to bear it, but the king keeps it as an ornament of which both Horse and driver may be proud even so, O Menelaus, were your shapely thighs and your legs down to your fair ancles stained with blood.

When KingAgamemnon saw the blood flowing from the wound he was afraid, and so was brave Menelaus himself till he saw that the barbs of the arrow and the thread that bound the arrow head to the shaft were still outside the wound.

Then shall some braggart Trojan leap upon your tomb and say, Ever thus may Agamemnon wreak his vengeance; he brought his army in vain; he is gone home to his own land with empty ships, and has left Menelaus behind him.

But Menelaus reassured him and said, "Take heart, and do not alarm the people; the arrow has not struck me in a mortal part, for my outer belt of burnished metal first stayed it, and under this my cuirass and the belt of mail which the Bronze smiths made me.

Presently he found standing amid the brave warriors who had followed him from Tricca; thereon he went up to him and said, Son" of Aesculapius, KingAgamemnon says you are to come and see Menelaus immediately.

Diana herself had taught him how to kill every kind of wild creature that is bred in mountain forests, but neither she nor his famed skill in archery could now save him, for the spear of Menelaus struck him in the back as he was flying; it struck him between the shoulders and went right through his chest, so that he fell headlong and his armour rang rattling round him.

Brave Menelaus pitied them in their fall, and made his way to the front, clad in gleaming Bronze and brandishing his spear, for Mars egged him on to do so with intent that he should be killed by Aeneas; but Antilochus the son of Nestor saw him and sprang forward, fearing that the king might come to harm and thus bring all their labour to nothing; when, therefore Aeneas and Menelaus were setting their hands and spears against one another eager to do battle, Antilochus placed himself by the side of Menelaus.

Now when the GoddessJuno saw the Argives thus falling, she said to Minerva, "Alas, daughter of aegis bearing Jove, unweariable, the promise we made Menelaus that he should not return till he had sacked the city of Ilius will be of none effect if we let Mars rage thus furiously.

Then Menelaus of the loud war cry took Adrestus alive, for his Horses ran into a tamarisk bush, as they were flying wildly over the plain, and broke the pole from the car; they went on towards the city along with the others in full flight, but Adrestus rolled out, and fell in the dust flat on his face by the wheel of his Chariot; Menelaus came up to him spear in hand, but Adrestus caught him by the knees begging for his life.

With these words he put on his armour; and then, O Menelaus, your life would have come to an end at the hands of hands of Hector, for he was far better the man, had not the princes of the Achaeans sprung upon you and checked you.

At daybreak let Idaeus go to the ships, and tell Agamemnon and Menelaus sons of Atreus the saying of Alexandrus through whom this quarrel has come about; and let him also be instant with them that they now cease fighting till we burn our dead; hereafter we will fight anew, till heaven decide between us and give victory to one or to the other.

All the treasure he took with him in his ships to Troy would that he had sooner perished he will restore, and will add yet further of his own, but he will not give up the wedded wife of Menelaus, though the Trojans would have him do so.

Menelaus replied, "How do I take your meaning? Am I to stay with them and wait your coming, or shall I return here as soon as I have given your orders?" "Wait," answered KingAgamemnon, "for there are so many paths about the camp that we might miss one another.

The two Ajaxes, servants of Mars, Meriones, and the son of Nestor all wanted to go, so did Menelaus son of Atreus; Ulysses also wished to go among the host of the Trojans, for he was ever full of daring, and thereon Agamemnon king of men spoke thus: "Diomed," said he, "son of Tydeus, man after my own heart, choose your comrade for yourself take the best man of those that have offered, for many would now go with you.

"If," said Agamemnon, "you are sons of Antimachus, who once at a council of Trojans proposed that Menelaus and Ulysses, who had come to you as envoys, should be killed and not suffered to return, you shall now pay for the foul iniquity of your father.

Thrice did he cry as loudly as man can cry, and thrice did brave Menelaus hear him; he turned, therefore, to Ajax who was close beside him and said, Ajax", noble son of Telamon, captain of your people, the cry of Ulysses rings in my ears, as though the Trojans had cut him off and were worsting him while he is single handed.

Menelaus took Ulysses by the hand, and led him out of the press while his squire brought up his Chariot, but Ajax rushed furiously on the Trojans and killed Doryclus, a bastard son of Priam; then he wounded Pandocus, Lysandrus, Pyrasus, and Pylartes; as some swollen torrent comes rushing in full flood from the mountains on to the plain, big with the rain of heaven many a dry oak and many a pine does it engulf, and much mud does it bring down and cast into the sea even so did brave Ajax chase the foe furiously over the plain, slaying both men and Horses.

On this Menelaus was grieved, and made menacingly towards Helenus, brandishing his spear; but Helenus drew his bow, and the two attacked one another at one and the same moment, the one with his spear, and the other with his bow and arrow.

As black beans or pulse come pattering down on to a threshing floor from the broad winnowing shovel, blown by shrill winds and shaken by the shovel even so did the arrow glance off and recoil from the shield of Menelaus, who in his turn wounded the hand with which Helenus carried his bow; the spear went right through his hand and stuck in the bow itself, so that to his life he retreated under cover of his men, with his hand dragging by his side for the spear weighed it down till Agenor drew it out and bound the hand carefully up in a woollen sling which his esquire had with him.

When the two were hard by one another the spear of the son of Atreus turned aside and he missed his aim; Pisander then struck the shield of brave Menelaus but could not pierce it, for the shield stayed the spear and broke the shaft; nevertheless he was glad and made sure of victory; forthwith, however, the son of Atreus drew his sword and sprang upon him.

Pisander struck the peak of Menelaus s crested helmet just under the crest itself, and Menelaus hit Pisander as he was coming towards him, on the forehead, just at the rise of his nose; the bones cracked and his two gore bedrabbled eyes fell by his feet in the dust.

He fell backwards to the ground, and Menelaus set his heel upon him, stripped him of his armour, and vaunted over him saying, "Even thus shall you Trojans leave the ships of the Achaeans, proud and insatiate of battle though you be: nor shall you lack any of the disgrace and shame which you have heaped upon myself.

While he was still fighting and confident of victory, Menelaus came up to help Meges, and got by the side of Dolops unperceived; he then speared him in the shoulder, from behind, and the point, driven so furiously, went through into his chest, whereon he fell headlong.

Euphorbus would not listen, and said, "Now indeed, Menelaus, shall you pay for the death of my brother over whom you vaunted, and whose wife you widowed in her bridal chamber, while you brought grief unspeakable on his parents.

Menelaus then took aim, praying to father Jove as he did so; Euphorbus was drawing back, and Menelaus struck him about the roots of his throat, leaning his whole weight on the spear, so as to drive it home.

As one who has grown a fine young Olive tree in a clear space where there is abundance of water the plant is full of promise, and though the winds beat upon it from every quarter it puts forth its white blossoms till the blasts of some fierce hurricane sweep down upon it and level it with the ground even so did Menelaus strip the fair youth Euphorbus of his armour after he had slain him.

Or as some fierce Lion upon the mountains in the pride of his strength fastens on the finest heifer in a herd as it is feeding first he breaks her neck with his strong jaws, and then gorges on her blood and entrails; Dogs and shepherds raise a hue and cry against him, but they stand aloof and will not come close to him, for they are pale with fear even so no one had the courage to face valiant Menelaus.

The God then went back into the toil and turmoil, but the soul of Hector was darkened with a cloud of grief; he looked along the ranks and saw Euphorbus lying on the ground with the blood still flowing from his wound, and Menelaus stripping him of his armour.

While he was thus in two minds, the Trojans came up to him with Hector at their head; he therefore drew back and left the body, turning about like some bearded Lion who is being chased by Dogs and men from a stockyard with spears and hue and cry, whereon he is daunted and slinks sulkily off even so did Menelaus son of Atreus turn and leave the body of Patroclus.

But Ajax came up with his shield like wall before him, on which Hector withdrew under shelter of his men, and sprang on to his Chariot, giving the armour over to the Trojans to take to the city, as a great trophy for himself; Ajax, therefore, covered the body of Patroclus with his broad shield and bestrode him; as a Lion stands over his whelps if hunters have come upon him in a forest when he is with his little ones in the pride and fierceness of his strength he draws his knit brows down till they cover his eyes even so did Ajax bestride the body of Patroclus, and by his side stood Menelaus son of Atreus, nursing great sorrow in his heart.

"My friends," he cried, "princes and counsellors of the Argives, all you who with Agamemnon and Menelaus drink at the public cost, and give orders each to his own people as Jove vouchsafes him power and glory, the fight is so thick about me that I cannot distinguish you severally; come on, therefore, every man unbidden, and think it shame that Patroclus should become meat and morsel for Trojan hounds.

On this he cried out to the two Ajaxes and Menelaus, Ajaxes" captains of the Argives, and Menelaus, give the dead body over to them that are best able to defend it, and come to the rescue of us living; for Hector and Aeneas who are the two best men among the Trojans, are pressing us hard in the full tide of war.

Menelaus answered, Phoenix", my good old friend, may Minerva vouchsafe me strength and keep the darts from off me, for so shall I stand by Patroclus and defend him; his death has gone to my heart, but Hector is as a raging fire and deals his blows without ceasing, for Jove is now granting him a time of triumph.

In his likeness Apollo said, Hector", who of the Achaeans will fear you henceforward now that you have quailed before Menelaus who has ever been rated poorly as a soldier? Yet he has now got a corpse away from the Trojans single handed, and has slain your own true comrade, a man brave among the foremost, Podes son of Eetion.

Menelaus heeded his words and went his way as a Lion from a stockyard the Lion is tired of attacking the men and hounds, who keep watch the whole night through and will not let him feast on the fat of their herd.

In his lust of meat he makes straight at them but in vain, for darts from strong hands assail him, and burning brands which daunt him for all his hunger, so in the morning he slinks sulkily away even so did Menelaus sorely against his will leave Patroclus, in great fear lest the Achaeans should be driven back in rout and let him fall into the hands of the foe.

With this Menelaus left them, looking round him as keenly as an Eagle, whose sight they say is keener than that of any other bird however high he may be in the heavens, not a hare that runs can escape him by crouching under bush or thicket, for he will swoop down upon it and make an end of it even so, O Menelaus, did your keen eyes range round the mighty host of your followers to see if you could find the son of Nestor still alive.

For a long time he was speechless; his eyes filled with tears and he could find no utterance, but he did as Menelaus had said, and set off running as soon as he had given his armour to a comrade, Laodocus, who was wheeling his Horses round, close beside him.

Ajax answered, Menelaus", you have said well: do you, then, and Meriones stoop down, raise the body, and bear it out of the fray, while we two behind you keep off Hector and the Trojans, one in heart as in name, and long used to fighting side by side with one another.

Or as Mules that put forth all their strength to draw some beam or great piece of ship s timber down a rough mountain track, and they pant and sweat as they, go even so did Menelaus and pant and sweat as they bore the body of Patroclus.

They went side by side for about as far as a young man can hurl a disc from his shoulder when he is trying his strength, and then Menelaus s mares drew behind, for he left off driving for fear the Horses should foul one another and upset the Chariots; thus, while pressing on in quest of victory, they might both come headlong to the ground.

Menelaus then upbraided Antilochus and said, "There is no greater trickster living than you are; go, and bad luck go with you; the Achaeans say not well that you have understanding, and come what may you shall not bear away the prize without sworn protest on my part.

Next after him came in Antilochus of the race of Neleus, who had passed Menelaus by a trick and not by the fleetness of his Horses; but even so Menelaus came in as close behind him as the wheel is to the Horse that draws both the Chariot and its master.

The end hairs of a Horse s tail touch the tyre of the wheel, and there is never much space between wheel and Horse when the Chariot is going; Menelaus was no further than this behind Antilochus, though at first he had been a full disc s throw behind him.

Antilochus"," said he, "what is this from you who have been so far blameless? You have made me cut a poor figure and baulked my Horses by flinging your own in front of them, though yours are much worse than mine are; therefore, O princes and counsellors of the Argives, judge between us and show no favour, lest one of the Achaeans say, Menelaus has got the mare through lying and corruption; his Horses were far inferior to Antilochus s, but he has greater weight and influence.

And Antilochus answered, "Forgive me; I am much younger, KingMenelaus, than you are; you stand higher than I do and are the better man of the two; you know how easily young men are betrayed into indiscretion; their tempers are more hasty and they have less judgement; make due allowances therefore, and bear with me; I will of my own accord give up the mare that I have won, and if you claim any further chattel from my own possessions, I would rather yield it to you, at once, than fall from your good graces henceforth, and do wrong in the sight of heaven.

The son of Nestor then took the mare and gave her over to Menelaus, whose anger was thus appeased; as when dew falls upon a field of ripening corn, and the lands are bristling with the harvest even so, O Menelaus, was your heart made glad within you.